A Northern European engineering, environment, design and regulatory consultancy, Sweco employs 17,500 people across 13 countries.  Mark, who has been with the business for the best part of a decade, is responsible for looking after the company’s UK offices – from Forres in Scotland to Southampton on the south coast. In 2019, Sweco UK acquired MLM Group which doubled the office portfolio – as well as Mark’s workload.

That may sound like a corporate sound bite, but it runs deep through the company. For Mark it involves energy conservation and sustainable energy procurement for all the offices he manages. “Part of that commitment means, for example, that we only source renewable energy,” explains Mark.

“There wasn’t anyone like Eneco working with the business when I first joined. The relationship with Eneco began eight years ago. They came to meet me here in Leeds and I liked that personal touch. We went through all the properties I looked after, and I explained the company’s sustainable ethos and what I needed. They only ever bring renewable energy to the table and I’ve been with them ever since.”

“Eneco is a great forward-thinking supplier who has made life easier for me.”

Mark gives an example from early in the Eneco relationship. “Sweco’s got numerous office sites and quite a lot of meters – so metering used to be a bit messy. With meter end dates split over different months and years, I was forever looking at them. When Eneco came onboard they helped me align all the end dates. That helped because it narrowed down when I had to look at them to a month a year. All my sites have the same supplier, contract renewals all come at the same time and I’m only paying one company – that end date alignment really made my life easier.”

Digital electric meters.

Eneco doesn’t tie its clients into cumbersome contracts with them and yet Mark admits he’s never bothered looking anywhere else for an energy broker. His philosophy is: “If it’s not broke there’s no point fixing it, is there? I only need to ask Eneco once for information, and it usually rocks up the following day. And they are very proactive.”

Mark offers another example of their proactivity. “Eneco provide me with quarterly consumption reports. Our environmental and carbon management teams find these reports helpful when it comes to business reporting and audits. Eneco provides this report every quarter, without me asking, and it contains everything these teams need and more. Like I say, they are proactive. They understand how sustainability is ingrained into the company’s ethos and the importance of this energy data to the business.”

Eneco has been working with Sweco UK for eight years. With no sweetheart deals in place with energy suppliers, Eneco has helped Sweco UK secure the best rates for their renewable energy from 12 different suppliers since they began working together.

In the last contract period alone, Eneco has helped the business secure savings of around £2,500. And their relationship continues to evolve. Mark is still sorting through all the new sites from the company’s recent acquisition, but once he’s done, he is planning to bring Eneco onboard to assist him with managing energy across the entire office portfolio.